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Adolescent Health

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RAND research on the physical and mental health of adolescents examines such topics as teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), substance use, obesity and physical activity, depression and suicide, and the influence of the media on sexual behavior.

The fire and resulting closure of the Liberty Bridge is forcing some Pittsburgh high school students to sacrifice sleep to meet a new 7:11 a.m. start time. Sleep loss has consequences for adolescents' minds, bodies, behavior, and for public safety.

A Maine-based trial of a Restorative Practices Intervention will assess whether a positive youth development program improves developmental outcomes and stems problem behaviors in middle schoolers, and whether the effects persist in high school.

Many organizations do not use programs backed by research or do not implement them well even when they do. A new web-based tool can help community leaders better plan and run their pregnancy prevention programs and achieve more positive outcomes.

This guide is designed to help organizations assess the need for and select a teen pregnancy prevention program, identify specific goals and outcomes, create a detailed plan, identify and use evaluation measures, and apply data for program improvement.

Compared with white and Latino adolescents, black adolescents reported a more positive perception of their own physical appearance; however, the difference may actually be an artifact of the measurement instrument.

In typical community-based settings, manuals and training common to structured evidence-based practices may be sufficient to yield low levels of performance and moderate levels of fidelity, but systematic implementation support is needed to achieve high levels of performance and fidelity.

Homeless youth use drop-in centers more than any other service, making the centers an important way to offer youth other services such as mental health care, substance use treatment, HIV/STI testing, and assistance with educational and employment needs.

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Researcher Spotlight

Social Scientist

Margaret Weden is a demographer and public health scientist with over ten years of experience studying the life course and intergenerational dynamics of population health and social wellbeing. She is currently leading a study of child early care and educational environments and child nutrition,…

Sociologist

Michael Pollard is a sociologist at the RAND Corporation. His research areas include family structure, adolescents, social relationships, and health (physical, mental, and health behaviors). His recent work has focused on the health implications of different types of friendship networks and…

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